High quality fractional dial caliper?

[river251]

I am struggling trying to find one fractional dial caliper that is not cheap Chinese junk. Reading the reviews on Amazon, a few reviewers will reveal the truth about any fractional dial caliper for uner $100: they seem to be of poor quality.

But, though I can find decimal dial calipers made in the USA or Japan, which I presume to be of higher quality, I can not find a fractional dial caliper.

Does anyone know of any?

Thanks.

 

[MushCreek]

I can't imagine having a use for a fractional caliper, but then, as a machinist, I've pretty much memorized all of the decimal equivalents down to 1/64's. How good does it have to be to read 64's? Decimal calipers read to .001, over 15 times the accuracy.

 

[river251]

I can't imagine having a use for a fractional caliper, but then, as a machinist, I've pretty much memorized all of the decimal equivalents down to 1/64's. How good does it have to be to read 64's? Decimal calipers read to .001, over 15 times the accuracy.

Woodworking, and lots of other uses, need fractional calipers.

Cheap junk ones have all kinds of problems. You can spend an evening reading the reviews on Amazon like I did.

 

[Oil leak]

Starrett makes one, 1202-6F, but it is from their Global Series.

 

[matt_i]

If you can memorize the various 1/16" decimals its not bad. They make large drill-charts you can hang on the wall which usually have all of the 1/64" dimensions in decimals plus other stuff you might not need like tap drill sizes for 75% threads. I would also recommend to get a .001" dial indicated caliper. The LCD decimal versions are handy but eventually the battery dies in the middle of a project and you have to scramble for a CR2032.

 

[Showkey]

Learn to convert from a decimal and you'll be happier for it.

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^

“How good does it have to be to read 64's? Decimal calipers read to .001, over 15 times the accuracy.”

This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[theoldwizard1]

Woodworking, and lots of other uses, need fractional calipers.

Cheap junk ones have all kinds of problems.

Woodworking ???!!!

I have a "cheap Chinese" one, iGaging IP54. It reads in fractions, decimal and metric. Works great.



If you need better accuracy, you need a micrometer,

 

[American Locomotive]

The problem is you're looking for a niche version of an already fairly niche product. There aren't going to be very many manufacturers making them, and those that do won't be moving the volume necessary to have low prices. Just keep in mind that even high quality dial calipers likely won't last long in a woodshop. The rack gears get packed up with dirt, sawdust and grime very quickly.

Honestly the digital ones that read fractions would probably be your best bet.

You could also just memorize the fractional/decimal conversions, or just convert your workflow to work in decimal inches.

 

[Wyoming09]

I've never seen a dial caliper with a fractional function. Digital ones, sure. But dial? The OP specifically states dial.

 

[MushCreek]

I do have an old vernier caliper that reads in 1/128th's.

 

[cvairwerks]

Starrett 1202F, about $110 from Zoro and others.

 

[bob15]

Just be aware that the Starrett 1202F is made in china....in case you're looking for a USA made model.

 

[jayemm]

The woodworking magazines have ads from suppliers of these and other woodworking tools.And they are handy for quick measurements of unmarked allen wrenches,drill bits,material thickness etc.The OP needs to be aware that the digital versions go down to 1/128" and being that accurate will give a **/64 or **/128 if the object being measured is not almost exactly dead on say **/8 or **/16 0r **/32".A dial type fractional caliper may suit you better.

 

[dr_clyde]

IMO, once you get beyond 16ths, it’s far easier to just use decimal inches. Seems like a lot of extra mental gymnastics to deal with 128ths or whatever. Most of the worlds precision measuring tools are designed to work with decimal inches or MM. Not fractions.

I guess if you’re insisting on using fractions, then your options will be limited.

IMO, just a Mitutoyo digimatic and be done with it.

 

[danielbuck]

I've never seen a dial caliper with a fractional function. Digital ones, sure. But dial? The OP specifically states dial.

I've got 2 dial calipers that show fractions at major increments, as well as decimal. One was a cheap plastic caliper from home depot. I think it would be fantastic for wood working, no chance of marring the work. Both are .01 instead of .001

I've recently been keeping the metal .01 (which also shows fractions) dial caliper in my tool cart that I work on vehicles with. It's kinda handy to quickly measure hole sizes to figure out what the largest size bolt will fit. I don't need the .001 accuracy, I just need to know if a 1/2" bolt will work, or if I need 7/16", or what have you.

I don't remember buying the metal one, so someone probably gave it to me. The plastic one I purchased on a whim, I keep it at my desk at work for taking measurements to make 3d printed parts. It's quite sufficient if you don't need high accuracy. certainly better than a tape measure.

 

[isb cornbinder]

I can't imagine having a use for a fractional caliper, but then, as a machinist, I've pretty much memorized all of the decimal equivalents down to 1/64's. How good does it have to be to read 64's? Decimal calipers read to .001, over 15 times the accuracy.

I agree. I do not understand why a person would want to use fractions when a decimal readout is so much more accurate.

 

[CGT80]

Two weeks ago I bought a fractional dial caliper from harbor freight. A few years ago I gave my dad a digital that does fractions but it reads in 128ths of an inch. The general brand plastic dial caliper that he gave me years ago, was in 64ths, with bigger fractions printed around the dial and had a conversion chart on the back to show that 8/64 is 1/8th inch. It is perfect for figuring out what drill bit will best fit or what thickness stock you need. The mechanism stripped and it no longer is accurate.

Sometimes thousands are too accurate and it is nice to not have to memorize decimals for 64ths or to look at the charts. As much ad I hate HF, the last pair of digital calipers has been great and I don't have to worry about breaking an expensive set when doing Fabrication work, plus I can afford to have a few sets. Hopefully the fractional dial version turns out to be as good. The only drawback of the general was the plastic build and I feared they would eventually wear out.

Sent from my SM-G955U using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Professional Tool User]

Woodworking, and lots of other uses, need fractional calipers.

Cheap junk ones have all kinds of problems. You can spend an evening reading the reviews on Amazon like I did.

Woodworking is one of those applications where accuracy isn't absolutely critical. When you are doing cutting wood in construction, getting your measurement down to the nearest 1/64" is low on the priority list. If you are going to be using a tool that measures in 1/1000", it's not going to matter that much for even 1/128" increments. I keep my expectations realistic for the fractional measurements and my Harbor Freight digital caliper works just fine.

 

[river251]

Thank you all for your thoughts. If you all become woodworkers, you will use fractional measurements, I firmly belive. I came here to ask because of the generally high knowledge about tools around here.

I have bought inexpensive digital calipers more than once. Not using them often, every time I needed them the battery was dead. Worse, they never lasted beyond a few uses. The really good digital ones like Mitutoyo are more than I want to spend.

To sum up, after another half day of searching the interweb, I've concluded that indeed, there are no fractional dial calipers made in the US, Europe, or Japan.

Looking at only five pages of results from an Amazon search, and a general google search, from what I found, that leaves (pennies omitted, all made in China and all on Amazon except the HF) Starret-110, Igaging-34, Oshlun-39, Shop Fox-43, MH Global-29 (with 2 duplicates with different names, same caliper, about the same price), Harbor Freight-24. There may be others but I think I got most of them.

On Amazon, there is a Woodcraft fractional caliper implying made in the US -84.

The Shop Fox looks the nicest to me, and has the best reviews. The machining seems better, as evidenced by the better-machined knurling around the bezel. The MH Global, which has no reviews at all, is the only one that has the decimal scale on the outer edge and the fractional on the inner edge which seems more sensible and useful. However the tic labels on the inner fractional scale are in 1/8th, instead of 1/64th, increments, which makes it harder to read than the Shop Fox for fractions. The outer decimal scale on the MH Global is easier to work with than the inner decimal scale on the Shop Fox but that difference is less significant than the difference for fractions.

So I ordered the Shop Fox. I will have both decimal for my mechanic stuff and fractional for my woodworking. I also found a metric one, that I intend to get later: Chicago Brand 50012 0-150mm, .02mm gradations. It's shipped and sold by Amazon as is the Shop Fox. Despite good ratings on Amazon, which I am somewhat skeptical of, it's good to know that if these are not satisfactory I have a month to just send them back.

Thanks again.

 

[river251]

Can we see a same of your woodworkig so we can all see the type of work requiring 1/64th and the placement of such a piece so humidity and temperature isn't the definer?

I didn't say I did woodworking, ducksface.

 

[Kenstone1]

I hear builders in my neighborhood hollering fractional measurements to the guy on the saw, comical sometimes, add in a language difference and it sometimes leads to fist fights.

Never understood why they don't buy/use Engineer's Scale tape measures.
There's nine lines between the inch marks, marked 1 thru 9.
No matter the language, most people are capable of counting to ten...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00002X2GL/?tag=atomicindus08-20
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00002X2GL/?tag=atomicindus08-20
Buy one of those and a "decimal" caliper and measure/cut away...
sorry for the vent,

 

[river251]

Then is the problem a conversion chart?
What you will use it for is a secret we shouldn't be let in on?
You said you were looking for expertise.
If you tell us the usage you could end up with a free one from a member....

Hi ducksface,

I'm not sure what it is you want to know. I like to work in the shop; I don't yet have a table saw, and stuff like that, because I am just building my shop. But I do things with my powertools. I think the Smithsonean Museum of Art would resist classifying them as cultural icons and masterpieces. But it's fun. And sometimes I need calipers. So when I'm working with wood and a tape measure, I think in quarter inches. Now I could expend some major calories over the next (however long before I go), doing conversions in my head. But, I could also spend 50 bucks and have the tool that will give me what I want in either language. Personally, since -- and did you know -- the human brain only weights about 6 pounts, but it uses 20% of the body's energy (unless you're running a marathon...), I'm saving major watts over the lifetime of the caliper (or me). Did you further know that pros at Wimbleton can lose 20 pounts playing a match there (it goes for a few days)? Did you even further know that grandmasters playing a chess tournament can lose 20 pounds? Ask me how I know.

Anyway, yeah, so that's why I want a caliper. If you like I can take a picture of the bedliner I'm going to make for my new garden tractor's dump cart, out of pine or plywood. Probably won't need a caliper.

However, I recently purchased a .22 and bought a target practice barrel for it, and a stock on ebay that was supposed to be for a "heavy barrel." Prolly Ruger didn't mean THAT heavy. The barrel is considerably too big for the stock. Anyway, I found an ancient roll of aluminum foil in my cupboard that doesn't unroll, you more have to peel it off the roll. Well I am going to peel it down to the diameter of the actual barrel. Then I will wrap sandpaper around it backwards and have a sanding block to work on the barrel channel in the stock. It's a nice walnut stock.

And so guess how I am going to know when I have peeled enough aluminum foil off so it's the same diameter as the barrel?

I could have done it with a decimal caliper as well as with a decimal+fractional, but I want the fractional for playing with wood projects, and I don't want to buy two. Cheers.

 

[river251]

It's hard to imagine a woodworker working in thousandths of inches. I would think it hard even with a good table saw to make a cut to a thousandth of an inch. But like I said I don't have my table saw yet so I'm not sure about that.

But I can't imaging doing real work on a motorcycle or truck without thousandths of inches mattering.

 

[American Locomotive]

I guess what the others were getting at, is that it's really trivial to convert between fractions and decimals. Or, you don't even need to convert if you just hang up a chart up somewhere in your shop. Eventually it'll become automatic knowledge that .125 is 1/8". And really, since (as you said) thousandths really don't matter in woodworking - you could just pretend that's .120. Then you know that 1/16th is roughly 0.060 with a quick divide by 2 without even really needing to think about it.

What the others were trying to say is that you bought a (self admitted) mediocre tool just because it has fractions, whereas if you were willing to concede and go with a decimal caliper, you could have gotten a really nice tool within your price range. A 6" Mitutoyo Digimatic is ~$100 and the battery will last 5 years.

 

[dr_clyde]

I guess what the others were getting at, is that it's really trivial to convert between fractions and decimals. Or, you don't even need to convert if you just hang up a chart up somewhere in your shop. Eventually it'll become automatic knowledge that .125 is 1/8". And really, since (as you said) thousandths really don't matter in woodworking - you could just pretend that's .120. Then you know that 1/16th is roughly 0.060 with a quick divide by 2 without even really needing to think about it.

What the others were trying to say is that you bought a mediocre tool just because it has fractions, whereas if you were willing to concede and go with a decimal caliper, you could have gotten a really nice tool within your price range. A 6" Mitutoyo Digimatic is ~$100 and the battery will last 5 years.

This pretty much mimics my thoughts.

Knowing that 1/4” is .250 doesn’t mean you have to hold a .001” tolerance.

Once you work in decimal inches enough, it becomes second nature and you’ll always want to work that way. It’s just faster to use a base 10 measuring system.

 

[river251]

I guess what the others were getting at, is that it's really trivial to convert between fractions and decimals. Or, you don't even need to convert if you just hang up a chart up somewhere in your shop. Eventually it'll become automatic knowledge that .125 is 1/8". And really, since (as you said) thousandths really don't matter in woodworking - you could just pretend that's .120. Then you know that 1/16th is roughly 0.060 with a quick divide by 2 without even really needing to think about it.

What the others were trying to say is that you bought a (self admitted) mediocre tool just because it has fractions, whereas if you were willing to concede and go with a decimal caliper, you could have gotten a really nice tool within your price range. A 6" Mitutoyo Digimatic is ~$100 and the battery will last 5 years.

No, I did a lot of research and feel pretty confident that I got the kind of tool I want, if not the heritage I want. I did not want to go over 100 if there were not a really fine tool it would get me, and I didn't feel there was a dial caliper with fractional and decimal measures that was of so great quality to justify spending that much. Just Chinese stuff. Maybe it is great, but there was a time when Starret was unquestionably high quality. Just like Nicholson files, good luck buying a new one like the old ones. I bet you won't argue that the state of the world in files is doing fine, and I bet you don't buy files made in China.
I wear an analogue watch, not a digital one. There is satisfaction in analog.

Thanks.

 

[MushCreek]

About 35 years ago, the Fortune 500 company I worked for declared that they were going to be 'fully metric' in one year. They gave us 40 hours training in metric metrology, bought us mikes, etc. Spent a fortune, then abandoned the effort. If 'Murica was metric, like the rest of the world, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

Going even further back to the 70's, I was trying to make my fortune building wooden boats. Since it had been recently declared that the US was going to be fully metric in ten years, I bought metric rules and tape measures, and designed and built my boats using metric measurements. The local fishermen who were my customers were not impressed, and I think they thought I was some kind of Commie.

 

[American Locomotive]

I wear an analogue watch, not a digital one. There is satisfaction in analog.

I totally get that - I still like to shoot photos on film. However I'm not going to pretend a film camera is superior to a modern digital camera.

Dial calipers like to pack up with dirt and dust, and then will start skipping teeth. The measurements will be off and you won't even realize it. Expensive ones cope much better with dirt and grime than cheap ones, but they all still are susceptible to it. A nice Digital caliper like a Mitutoyo is a leaps and bounds ahead of a HF caliper that kills its batteries in 2 months.

This also really wasn't a digital vs. analog debate. It was a decimal vs. fractional debate. I know several professional woodworkers that use calipers in their daily routines - and they're all decimal calipers. They've just memorized common fraction/decimal equivalents, and now they're set.

The other option is just to convert your workflow into decimal inches, and then there's no problem at all. There's nothing that says you HAVE to use fractional inches when wood working. I have a metric tape measure I use to build projects sometimes...

If you absolutely had to have the fractional caliper, more power to you! I hope it works well and is reliable.

 

[Willie Makeit]

High quality fractional dial caliper?

yeah. it's called a tape measure or a scale

 

[river251]

Since you mentioned that, I do have a 6 foot steel marked in 128ths if the op is interested in extending his work past a few inches.
It's up for trade. $900 retail, I'll trade for an ashtray or a dog turd shaped like George Washington if I like that ashtray or dogturd. Your end of the trade needn't be nearly as expensive as my end of the trade. I'm looking for odd and unique, not value.

Well, I could trade you a dial caliper....

 

[scooterbum46]

In defense of those "cheap HF" stainless steel digital calipers, I've got three pair of them, the oldest more than 10 years old. I use them in metal and wood working and check their accuracy with a standard. The cases they come in have a spot for a spare (CR44) battery and when I've replaced a battery, I get another one out of my stash and put it in the case. The batteries don't die in 2 months - I've seen more like 2 -3 years, but then, I remember to shut them off when I put them away. Take care of equipment, even the cheap stuff, and it'll last.

 

[American Locomotive]

In defense of those "cheap HF" stainless steel digital calipers, I've got three pair of them, the oldest more than 10 years old. I use them in metal and wood working and check their accuracy with a standard. The cases they come in have a spot for a spare (CR44) battery and when I've replaced a battery, I get another one out of my stash and put it in the case. The batteries don't die in 2 months - I've seen more like 2 -3 years, but then, I remember to shut them off when I put them away. Take care of equipment, even the cheap stuff, and it'll last.

There are many different HF digital calipers, depending on where and when you bought them.

Many of them do kill the batteries in a couple of months, as they never actually "turn off". They just turn the screen off. I believe some of the older HF calipers (ones that you'd need to zero every time you turn them on) actually turn off.

But the newer ones that "remember" their position absolutely murder batteries. Source: I, and my friends have bought several. They murder batteries.

Mitutoyos (and other high end digital calipers) encode the position in the caliper track, so they don't need to stay on to remember their position.

 

[river251]

I totally get that - I still like to shoot photos on film. However I'm not going to pretend a film camera is superior to a modern digital camera.

Dial calipers like to pack up with dirt and dust, and then will start skipping teeth. The measurements will be off and you won't even realize it. Expensive ones cope much better with dirt and grime than cheap ones, but they all still are susceptible to it. A nice Digital caliper like a Mitutoyo is a leaps and bounds ahead of a HF caliper that kills its batteries in 2 months.

This also really wasn't a digital vs. analog debate. It was a decimal vs. fractional debate. I know several professional woodworkers that use calipers in their daily routines - and they're all decimal calipers. They've just memorized common fraction/decimal equivalents, and now they're set.

The other option is just to convert your workflow into decimal inches, and then there's no problem at all. There's nothing that says you HAVE to use fractional inches when wood working. I have a metric tape measure I use to build projects sometimes...

If you absolutely had to have the fractional caliper, more power to you! I hope it works well and is reliable.

A film camera is not superior to a "modern" camera for what purpose?

Hop over to the Nikon website and take a look at the new film cameras.

I came here to ask if you guys know where I can find a tool. What happened is nobody had that info, but a referendum developed over the value of my selection of caliper type. Screw digital calipers. Screw decimal measures. If I need that I can use it. Not what I want.

I'm happy with the tool I have coming and hope it's as high a quality as duckface thinks it will be. Having accomplished that, I have no interest in you guys' opinion about what sort of calipers I should buy, and am offended that you think you are smarter than me and should tell me what's wrong with my choice. Where to you folks get off? Maybe you need to find some new things to do.

 

[Lassen Forge]

Mitutoyo. I've been using mine for 45 years now, and I love it. Still -well- within its accuracy range (last check it was under .0001"), and being a mechanical dial, never used one battery. Find an older one that hasn't been abused, and you can leave it for your kids.

I also have my dad's old Starrett Verniers... I figure the only way those would go is if the were beat on or bent, but they involve glasses and a magnifier... old people eyes, ya know.

I also have pit gauges I use for steel tank assessments, but that;s a totally different discipline...

A film camera is not superior to a "modern" camera for what purpose?

Hop over to the Nikon website and take a look at the new film cameras.

I came here to ask if you guys know where I can find a tool. What happened is nobody had that info, but a referendum developed over the value of my selection of caliper type. Screw digital calipers. Screw decimal measures. If I need that I can use it. Not what I want.

I'm happy with the tool I have coming and hope it's as high a quality as duckface thinks it will be. Having accomplished that, I have no interest in you guys' opinion about what sort of calipers I should buy, and am offended that you think you are smarter than me and should tell me what's wrong with my choice. Where to you folks get off? Maybe you need to find some new things to do.

WOAH!!! Sorry, but WTF? Man, ask for info, and then bite off heads? That ain't cool, man...

 

[dr_clyde]

Someone unititiated to shop things never understands its not the tool you seek but the path you took to decide on that tool and the use of that tool after you aquire.
If you're happily on the path to Disneyland, in your head, but actually should have taken that left at Albuquerque, you need told. If you tell us Disneyland is a massage parlor, we should probably just sit you down and explain life to you.

And we do.
Then you're mad.
I catch it all the time here.
Take someone's blinders off, accidently or Purposefully, and they say things like

I'm rubber you're glue.
It's the veritable response I get to a LOT of my posts.
Then they attack your spelling.

This guy just hit us all with
I'm rubber you're glue.
Nothing more.
I'm used to it.

Disneyland isn’t a massage parlor?! I’ve been lied to my whole life... hahaha

 

[Willie Makeit]

A film camera is not superior to a "modern" camera for what purpose?

Hop over to the Nikon website and take a look at the new film cameras.

I came here to ask if you guys know where I can find a tool. What happened is nobody had that info, but a referendum developed over the value of my selection of caliper type. Screw digital calipers. Screw decimal measures. If I need that I can use it. Not what I want.

I'm happy with the tool I have coming and hope it's as high a quality as duckface thinks it will be. Having accomplished that, I have no interest in you guys' opinion about what sort of calipers I should buy, and am offended that you think you are smarter than me and should tell me what's wrong with my choice. Where to you folks get off? Maybe you need to find some new things to do.

...i predict your time here is not going to go as you think it will

 

[Lassen Forge]

Couldn't have said it better myself!

 

[Willie Makeit]

youth is valid excuse for inexperience, but not rudeness

 

[PNWguy]

I've never seen a dial caliper with a fractional function. Digital ones, sure. But dial? The OP specifically states dial.

They are marketed to woodworkers.
All the non-woodworkers here will tell you to just use a digital caliper, but they don't seem to understand that woodworking tools are marked in fractions, not decimals.

I use digital and dial calipers in my machine shop, and fractional dial calipers in the woodshop. I wouldn't switch back.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FRGF1Q/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[dr_clyde]

They are marketed to woodworkers.
All the non-woodworkers here will tell you to just use a digital caliper, but they don't seem to understand that woodworking tools are marked in fractions, not decimals.

I use digital and dial calipers in my machine shop, and fractional dial calipers in the woodshop. I wouldn't switch back.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FRGF1Q/?tag=atomicindus08-20

No, we get it, but we just don't understand why the concept of simple math seems to evade woodworkers when machinists have been doing it for decades.

What is gained by having a special caliper that tells me that my part is 1/16" instead of just knowing that .0625" is a sixteenth?

Edit: I'm not directing that toward anyone in particular, just reflecting the sentiment.